Kentucky Nearly Got Two More Interstate Highways Before Both Plans Disappeared

For the longest time, the Pennyrile Parkway, the western third of the Western Parkway, and the William Natcher Parkway were an intrinsic part of travelers' lives. Those stretches of blacktop still are; they have new names. Part of the WK Parkway became Interstate 69 in 2008. The Pennyrile Parkway from the WK interchange to Henderson became I-69 in 2015. The Natcher Parkway transformed to Interstate 165 in 2019.

Interstate Highways

But what about the other four-lane highways that remain Kentucky parkways? Have any of them been earmarked for a numerical designation? The answer is "yes," but that doesn't mean it will ever happen...that is, regarding at least one of them.

Interstate 66

Back in 2005, the conversion of the Cumberland Parkway to the Interstate 66 corridor entered the conversation. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet was serious enough about this project that it published this lengthy, detailed evaluation. The following clip provides a sort of "timeline" for the Interstate 66 discussion.

Not only would I-66 have traversed the entire Commonwealth, but it was also meant to be a Kentucky-to-Kansas connector, illustrated by the following map. (Also, it seems someone really wants this project back on the table.)

But I-66 is off the table, despite the presence, years ago, of signs that read "Future I-66 Corridor." I remember seeing them, and so does Justin Wilson, who commented on the following post.

Interstate 67

There was also a brief flirtation with an Interstate 67 that would've connected Interstate 65 at Bowling Green, Kentucky to Interstate 69 somewhere in Indiana. The four-lane highway would have used the existing Interstate 165 (it was the Natcher Parkway at the time), the Owensboro bypass, and an upgraded U.S. 231 from Owensboro to Interstate 64. There was even a feasibility study from the Indiana Department of Transportation, but the project was dismissed and never got as close to the "table" as even I-66.

Kentucky has had much more success with three-digit interstate designations like I-165 than with proposals for entirely new interstate corridors. We have those in Kentucky. Give 'em three-digit numbers, and let's move on.